Chapter 45: "I am not climbing on a bug"
The forest the girls were walking in was never ending, however no one wanted to complain. The forest was completely different from the forest surrounding their school for example or any forests and their hometown planets. They watched in awe as the forest's inhabitants used the huge branches over their heads like roads and sidewalks. The trees had been transformed into residences. Windows and doors had been carved in their thick trunks. They even saw one or two residents greet them with a welcoming wave and smile.
Not only were they surprised by the size of the trees but also by the beauty of the fauna surrounding them. There were so many different flowers and plants they had never seen before. It was a beautiful explosion of colours. Stella even commented on the cute eco-friendly outfits the people around them were wearing. She asked the girls if maybe later they could go and visit the malls here. Of course the others just rolled their eyes at their friend's request.
A half hour later, they finally reached the edge of the town. Unsurprisingly Stella's good mood quickly changed when she found out that their means of transportation would be giant ladybugs.
"I am not climbing on a bug. Ew. It's staring at me. Someone please shoo it away!"
After a few minutes of convincing the reluctanct fairy to climb on the back of her six legged ride, the group was finally on their way. Luckily, when Flora told them where they wanted to go, the oversized insects already knew the way. The girls could just enjoy the ride and let their new little friends take them where they needed to be. Well, except for Stella, who spent her trip explaining to them how Solaria's Pegasus were a much better, more elegant way of travelling than bugs.
The trip did not take long; a few minutes later, they were already on the ground right next to a beautiful stream. They all instantly spotted the huge willow standing in the middle of it. Hundreds of drops of clear water were falling from his branches and into the river around him. The sight of this magical living being weeping his lost one broke Flora's heart.
They had all gone silent. Perhaps they all sensed, not just the nature fairy, the amount of emotional pain the tree was emitting. But the silence had to end at some point. Bloom was the first one to speak up.
"So how are we going to transport the water?"
Flora suddenly remembered that there was an unspoken rule to follow. They needed to collect a small amount of water without letting their skin touch it. Not more than a cup by person. These were sacred and protected grounds. It was badly seen to take too much of the magical water. They all agreed that they would only collect the amount needed for the tree. Stella volunteered to magically conjure a small little glass bottle. And bottle in hand, the blond princess gracefully crouched at the river's border.
"I apologize for bothering you Mr. Willow. But we're just here to take a few drops of your tears. It's to save a our professor. Thank you for helping us." And she quickly glided the chalice through the water making sure not to let any of it touch her fingers. She had already gone through the terrible years of acne and awkwardness as a preteen, she absolutely did not want to go through it again.
As soon as she was done she walked back over to where the other girls were standing, proudly showing off the chalice filled with magic time water. But the joy and happiness did not last, because as soon as she tried handing the chalice to Flora for safe keeping, it was snatched out of her hands by an invisible force. They watched helplessly the goblet float over their heads and in the hand of one familiar looking witch, Icy.
"Well, well, well. If it isn't our favorite pesky group of pixies. Here to help your poor little professor. I heard he got taught a lesson by Sir Valtor." She said while her sister cackled around her. The group looked anxiously as the older witch played recklessly with the bottle. Throwing it up and down. Enjoying how the little fairies eyes were worriedly watching the little bottle's every move.
"We really like the professor's new look. We think he should keep it. That's why we're not letting you leave with even a drop of this water." Darcy warned them.
As the girls were ready to transform, they were already too late. No one could stop in time the dark witch from throwing one of her terrible spells at the stream next to them. They watched in horror as the beautiful clear turquoise water turned murky brown. It looked thicker and more agitated. It let out a terrible smell too. Actually, they all recognized it as magical moving mud. They had to learn about it in class just a few months ago. Anything that came near it would be trapped and drowned. It was often used by powerful witches to either capture light creatures or destroy the natural environment.
"Icy just throw it in too." Darcy told her older sister. No, that small bottle was their last chance to save Dimitri. Flora could not let it sink in the magical mud. Dimitri, she had to get Dimitri back. Whatever the cost. She desperately ran as the white haired witch got ready to throw the bottle. She ran as fast as her legs could carry her. Not paying attention to her friends' shouts or yelling. She just ran. Dimitri. She needed to get the bottle back to Dimitri. She jumped from the river's edge and grabbed the bottle in midair. As soon as she caught it, she hurriedly made sure to tuck it safely in her body. As she did all that, she felt a magical wave of mud grab her around the thighs and pull her down. She tried struggling against it. But it was no use. She could only keep the bottle tightly in her hands. All in the hopes that the precious willow tears wouldn't spill and get lost in the mud surrounding her.
She felt her body sink quickly. It was starting to encase her whole body like a second sling. She felt it climb her neck, touching her chin and getting into her ears and hair. But as she was slowly disappearing below the surface she tried to collect the last of her for e and energy around the small vial in her hands. She attempted to concentrate as much as possible on the small object and her magical powers instead of the threatening dirty water around her. And her efforts came through. Because a small floating bubble appeared around the bottle and lifted it up away from her and the mud as quickly as possible. Flying safely towards her friends.
She had succeeded. She had stopped Dimitri's only hope from getting destroyed. She could trust her friends to get it to him in time. He would finally be free from his time-prison. She felt so relieved. He meant the world to her. He was worth it. Seeing him safe was worth it. She thought as her body slowly lost the energy to fight. The mud kept her limbs paralysed. She slowly sank deeper. Now it was even getting into her eyes and she would soon not be able to breath through nose. She felt a tear slide down her cheek at the thought of never again seeing her family. Never again going out and having fun with her best friends. And especially at the thought of never again sitting down on the sofa with Dima chatting about books around a cup of tea and coffee.
As darkness started to creep at the edge of her vision, the last image she saw was him and his beautiful smile which he had started to show her more often these last few months. She hoped with all her heart he would get to smile again in the future too. Many many more times.
